RITES Ltd, the transport infrastructure consultancy and engineering company, in consortium with SMEC International Pty Limited, signed a contract with Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC), a joint venture of Government of Haryana and Ministry of Railways, for providing general consultancy services for Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) from Palwal to Sonepat vis Sohna, Manesar and Kharkhoda. The contract value is about `72 crore.

The contract was signed by Piyush Kansal, Executive Director, Unban Infrastructure, RITES Ltd (on behalf of RITES-SMEC), and  Narinder D Chumber, Director (Project & Planning), HRIDC, in the presence of Dinesh Chand Deshwal, IRSE, MD, HRIDC, Rajeev Mehrotra, Chairman & Managing Director, RITES Ltd, VG Suresh Kumar, Director Projects, RITES Ltd, and Andrew McKune, Executive Director, SMEC.

The Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) connecting Palwal to Sonepat via Sohna, Manesar and Kharkhoda is an electrified broad gauge double railway line for passenger and freight traffic. About 122 route km corridor will provide seamless connectivity to Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) at Prithala station and to Indian Railways at Palwal, Patli, Sultanpur, Asaudha and Harsana Kalan stations. The project is being funded by Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and shall be completed in five years.

The project would help decongest Delhi by diverting goods and passenger trains not originated/destined for Delhi. It would also be beneficial to industrial and logistic hubs of Kharkhoda, Manesar and Sohna and would help develop additional hubs in the region.